


A Man Like That

by Thingsenjoyed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Confession, Allura is still alive, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, I don't know anything about tv show interviews so, I freaking love shidge, I looooove his white hair, I love famous voltron, Long Hair Pidge, Pidge is 19, Post-Canon, Shiro is 23, Voltron are celebrities, created from the accidental confession prompt, if you don't like it don't read it please, im aware of and can't help the run on sentences I just can't stop, lotor is still alive, public confession, shiro has white hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 23:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19161394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thingsenjoyed/pseuds/Thingsenjoyed
Summary: "People are always more honest when they think no one's listening."Pidge experiences first hand the evils of the media, and Shiro rushes home to make it better.Prompt: accidental confession/public confession





	A Man Like That

**Author's Note:**

> This is from the prompts 'accidental confession' and 'public confession'.  
> I love a little trouble sometimes.  
> Again, Pidge is 19 and Shiro is 23. I personally think that's fine but some people don't so if you're gonna complain don't read it please.  
> It's been a long time since I've written anything so I hope you guys enjoy it and sorry if shidge isn't your cup of tea but I've been really into it lately so I was inspired to write something.  
> Also, I literally know nothing about tv show interviews and how those work so I just made it up as I went to make it interesting soooo bear with me.

 

If there was one thing for sure, one thing _everyone_ knew about Pidge, it was the fact that she _hated_ being left behind. It wasn't necessarily being alone with none of her best friends to talk to, although that could very well be a part of it. It was the part that made her feel like she wasn't needed, and she wanted to feel like a significant member of the mission, no matter how minor said mission may be.

_I'm overreacting_ , she thinks as she stands far enough away from the black lion to not be impacted by its take off, scowling up at the eyes and imagining her friends having the time of their lives. 

Obviously that was an exaggeration. They wouldn't be having the time of their lives on a diplomatic mission, but at least they were _together_.

Pidge had asked, practically begged, to go with them, insisting she was well enough to travel into space after suffering a high-grade fever from god knows what for four days. But, not to anyones surprise, they said no. _They_ being everyone on team Voltron, Matt, her parents, Coran, even Iverson suggested it'd be best if she got some rest in case of a real emergency. 

And so, after her final pleas and puppy eyed attempts at guilt tripping, well, anybody who could be affected by those, it was decided that Pidge would be staying behind. 

She turns on her heel a little too quickly, her head spinning a little and causing her to slow down, but she stomps on, refusing to confirm anyones worries of her being anything less than _fine_. She thought about heading to the kitchen, but decided against it after remembering that Hunk wouldn't be there and her stomach still churned a little at the thought of eating anything. Killbot Phantasm was also out of the question, since neither Matt nor Lance was there to play with her. Hell, even sitting in silence with Keith wasn't an option. 

"Being sick _sucks_ ," Pidge whines, falling onto her bed in the Garrison hospital room where they'd insisted she stayed in case of any other _complications_ to her health coming up. Her mind drifted to Shiro, who she really wished she could see right now in her time of dramatic misery and loneliness.

She hugged her pillow closer to her chest. In the worst of her fever, when her parents couldn't be right there next to her, Shiro _was_. He'd held her hair back, caressed her hand with his thumb with the softest circles that sent her stomach into a frenzy unrelated to the sickness. Seen her in her worst, embarrassingly disgusting time of frustration and weakness and as much as she'd wanted him to go away she couldn't find it in herself to ask, knowing fully well he'd honor the request without hesitation. 

A quiet knock sends her shooting upwards, propping herself up on one hand while the other swipes her hair from her face. Before she can answer, Sam's head peeks in through the opening he'd created.

"Hey, Honey!" He sings, his tone quite chipper with a sheepish grin on his face. Unlike Colleen, Sam tended to tread carefully around their daughter, especially in a mood such as this one, and _especially_ when he was part of the cause.

Speaking of, her mother nudges him further into the room, rolling her eyes at his reluctance while placing a hand on Pidge's forehead.

"How're you feeling, Katie? Your temperature seems to be going down." 

Pidge flops back onto her pillow and throws an arm over her eyes, "Absolutely _awful_ , Mother. In fact, my head feels like it's being crushed by the black lion, and I can barely move my arms, and - and, oh! I can't feel my legs! I may be dying!" She cries. 

She can hear Sam snickering from the doorway and when she peeks out from under her arm she finds a smirk on Colleens face.

"Good one, Drama Queen. I guess that means you're not up for another interview today?"

"Interview? Haven't we done a bunch of those?" Pidge asks, putting dramatics aside to prop herself up on her elbows.

Sam chuckles and moves to stand next to his wife, "Well, when you save the universe you have to expect some sort of fame."

"But the others aren't here..." Pidge trails off, wondering what seemed special enough about her for someone to want to interview her individually.

"She wanted an interview with you individually and asked if you wanted to sit down with her and talk for a while."

Pidge leans forward, wrapping her arms around her legs, "That sounds... Kinda scary, I mean, I've never done an interview without one of the others and they usually did most of the talking so what if I mess it up and everyones watching and then they hate me -"

"Katie." Colleen's voice is firm as the smile disappears from her face and she crawls onto bed next to her daughter. "First of all, you can say no, this isn't required at all. Second, you don't have to answer any questions you don't want to answer. And third," She pauses kissing the top of her head, "When have you ever cared if someone doesn't like you?"

Although a part of her still shivered at the thought of speaking publicly, something that was more in Shiro and Allura's skillset, _and_ about herself, which was definitely in Lance's skillset, the other part of her knew her mom was right. She was Katie Holt, green paladin of Voltron and the girl who isn't scared of anything. 

Well, almost anything.

"I guess... I don't see why not." Pidge smiles.

What could go wrong?

* * *

She later finds herself in a plush red chair that she feels way too small in, in a simple green dress that ties around the back of her neck and reaches about mid thigh. She worries about this probably more than she should, tugging on the fabric and crossing her legs tightly in order to prevent embarrassing herself for flashing the millions of people she's told would be watching. 

Earlier she'd been bombarded with makeup artists poking at her eyes and cheeks while her parents just watched from the side, covering their mouths in an attempt to hide the laughter that was already quite obvious. They'd gone through too many rules of etiquette to keep track of and she found herself wishing for a pencil and paper to write it all down as she'd suddenly grown a lot more uneasy of the events to come.

Pidge picks at a loose thread on the seat, lost in thought until a woman approaches her wearing a pair the highest heels she's ever seen. The woman wears a form fitting dress so red she could send the red lion running. The neckline is a steep V shape, showing a bit more cleavage than Pidge would care to show even if she could, and her black hair is neatly curled around her shoulders. 

Pidge had opted to keep her hair in her pony tail, letting her bangs hang loose and hair framing her face. Of course, Colleen had made sure to help style it into something a little more presentable, but Pidge insisted she'd be most comfortable without changing her hair too much.

"Hi, I'm Megan, and you must be Katie." The woman holds out her hand. 

Pidge shoots up out of her seat fast enough for her head to spin and takes Megan's hand in hers, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine! It's an honor to meet one of the paladins of Voltron. Please, take a seat." She gestures back towards Pidge's chair before taking a seat in her own, "I take it you're a little nervous?"

Pidge's cheeks heat up as she nods.

Megan chuckles, "It's okay, even some of the big stars get nervous before something like this, but trust me, there's nothing to worry about. This first time around we're just gonna practice. Give you a better picture of the kinds of questions we're asking and how you might want to answer them, then we'll have you come back tomorrow and we'll do the real thing, sound good?"

An immediate sense of relief fills Pidge's chest at Megan's words. Altean castle goes haywire and you need to think of a fast way to fix it? She can do that. Need an infiltration plan in less than 10 minutes? Pidge is your girl. Answering impromptu questions on a talk show in front of a crazy amount of people? Go find Lance.

"That sounds great!"

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Megan smiles and reaches for her notes on the coffee table separating the two, "So, we know a lot about the green paladin, but we don't know a lot about Katie Holt, and I think a lot of people can agree when I say we want to know more about the girl behind the screen. Let's start off with the nickname. Many have heard you go by 'Pidge Gunderson', could you explain where that comes from?"

Pidge's hands go straight to her hair, a habit she'd picked up as her hair got longer, "That's... A long story." She answers with a shaky laugh.

The host leans back in her chair, resting her arms on the arm rests and crossing her legs, "Go ahead, we've got time."

As Pidge relays the story from her past, the more comfortable she becomes. She begins to realize how Lance makes it look so easy, because it _is_. She likes to think of it as if it were an experiment or project that she was talking to Lance or Keith about. Keep it basic, make it understandable, don't ramble, don't go off on tangents... 

The more questions she was asked the tenseness in her limbs faded away. She was asked about her family, what it was like to find them, what her relationship was like with Matt. She talked about the Olkari, the green lion, and even Slav, and the look on Sams face from the side left her giggling and recounting the time she and Shiro had rescued Slav and how that was the first time she'd seen him blow up on someone. 

The fondness in her voice must have triggered some more questions in Megan's mind, and she begins asking about the other paladins.

"You guys were up there for quite some time. I take it you got really close?"

Pidge nods, "They're my best friends. Honestly... I don't know what I would do without them. But don't tell them that, I have a reputation to keep up." 

Megan quirks an eyebrow. "And what _reputation_ might that be?"

"Independent, 'I don't need your help' kind of thing... I don't like being underestimated. Which happens a lot because of my size or because I'm a girl. I'm not really someone you'd imagine would help save the universe." Pidge laughs, but this time it sounds a little more forced, and she hopes Megan decides to move on rather than dwell on it. 

She seemed to pick up on this, and glances back down at her notes before asking, "Now, I have to ask, as a girl living with four very handsome young men, which one could you see yourself in a relationship with?"

"Shiro." Her answer slips out in a matter-of-fact sounding tone and she claps her hand over her mouth immediately afterwards. A blush creeps onto her cheeks despite knowing this was just practice, but she really should've thought that through before blurting it out like it was nothing. She sneaks a quick glance at the camera before clearing her throat.

Megan looks just as surprised as Pidge was. Pidge is about to attempt to correct her little slip-up before Megan interrupts with another inquiry.

"Shiro? That's interesting, I thought you'd be more interested in Hunk or even Lance. Isn't he a little old for you?"

A bolt of irritation rushes through her and she can feel her expression give that away before she can control it, "Actually, when you're stuck in space for four years, age starts to become less of a factor and it's the other things that really matter. In case you forgot, I was 14 when I got involved in a _space war_. Suddenly my being 14 didn't really matter anymore and birthdays were missed and we were just people. We were all humans who'd happened to get thrown into a series of coincidences that brought us together." She maintains a surprisingly calm demeanor through her speech, and holds up a finger when Megan opens her mouth. 

"When you're fighting a war you find yourself drawn to the people who make you feel safest, the people you can trust. Shiro saved my family, he helped me find them," She lets out a single laugh, "Shiro saved _my_ life countless times because he's the most selfless guy I've ever met and he goes out of his way to take care of me. He's strong, kind, and he's funny when he lets go, and he's _freaking gorgeous_... Who wouldn't love a man like that?" She realizes she'd been rambling again when she makes eye contact with her host, who sits wide eyed as a result of Pidge's little rant. In fact, her parents and everyone else in the room look slightly surprised and, again, Pidge finds herself covering her mouth with her fingers with her cheeks burning and her eyes trained on the floor.

"Could you leave that question out tomorrow?"

Megan clears her throat and looks to the camera, the look of shock completely gone from her face, replaced by a huge smile, "Well, there you have it!"

"Wait -"

"I hope you enjoyed learning a little, or a _lot_ , about Katie Holt, the green paladin of Voltron!"

"I thought this wasn't airing!"

"Come back tomorrow for another special guest, and thank you for watching!"

" _You freaking bi_ -"

"CUT!"

Megan stands from her chair like nothing happened, prepared to head back to her dressing room and go home for the day. Pidge can't help but stay frozen in her seat, jaw dropped as the events that just transpired catch up to her.

"What the _hell_ was _that_?" Pidge growls at Megans retreating form. 

She stops, looks at Pidge over her shoulder and says, "People are always more honest when they think no one's listening." She turns around and starts walking away, "Thanks for coming, I'd love to have you back another time."

Suddenly Pidge is filled with a rage that sends her shooting from her seat towards Megans retreating figure. The arms of her parents wrap around her just in time for the evil host to round the corner and disappear, a smirk dancing on her lips.

"Come on, Honey, let's go."

"The only way I'm leaving is if you promise to take me to the middle of the desert and leave me there to die."

"Not gonna happen. Let's go." Colleen gently ushers Pidge to the elevator.

"E-excuse me, Ma'am - The dress -" One of the poor makeup artists follows close behind, repeatedly tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. Pidge feels sort of bad for ignoring her, as she probably played no part in this scheme, but right now the rage inside her burns brighter than the little ball of people skills she has and all she can do is hold up her middle finger as the elevator doors close between them. 

And then the tears come.

* * *

 Five pairs of wide eyes stare at the blank screen in front of them until Keith finally finds it in himself to swipe it away in favor of the vast expanse of space.

"Wait, can we watch it again?" 

"No, Lance!" Keith swats his hand away from the controls, "That was the third time."

"But it was cute!" 

Hunk nudges Lance away from Keith in order to prevent a fight, "If Pidge was here she would kill us for watching it even once."

Lance crosses his arms, "If Pidge was here the video wouldn't exist."

Hunk brings a fist to his mouth to hide his smile, "Don't tell her I said this but I'm _so_ glad it exists."

"Hunk!" Allura scolds.

"What? Everyone else has videos of them doing something embarrassing! I'm not saying she deserved it, I'm just saying it's not fair that I had a bunch of stupid fart videos and she didn't have anything." Hunk takes a step back with his hands held up in defense.

"Guys, shut up." Shiro interjects. The cockpit goes silent, even the hum of the lion seems to get quieter. The look on his face is completely neutral. Shiro had already been hard to read, it's when he doesn't want you to that it becomes impossible.

The others unconsciously lean just a little closer, eager to hear his reaction to Pidge's accidental confession of love for him. Of course, some of them had already been able to figure it out, so Pidge's feelings had not been much of a surprise. It was Shiro who was a little harder to interpret, but if you looked closely, the look in his eyes when he saw her was one of pure adoration. When she smiled, he smiled. When she was sad, so was he. When she was in danger, well... Slav doesn't hold a candle to that.

"I need to talk to her." 

Lance gasps, "Does that mean you feel the same?" 

Keith stands next to him, slapping his arm, "Seriously? Let him process."

"Yes, I do. Keith, can you turn us around?" Allura and Lance squeal and Hunk laughs while Shiros expression remains neutral, save for a small smile beginning to form on his lips. 

Keith, dumbstruck, needs a slight pat from Lance to come back to reality before the lion moves on its own accord, letting out a roar before flying full speed in the direction of Earth.

"Looks like Black's quite eager as well!" Allura exclaims, laughing.

"What about the mission?" Keith asks, returning to the pilots seat.

Allura waves her hand, "The mission can wait. This is _way_ more important."

"She'll probably die of embarrassment before we can get to her." Lance teases.

"Oh! Pidge was experimenting with a cell phone for interstellar communication, let me try calling her!" Hunk pulls a flip phone from his pocket, pressing a button and holding the device up to his ear. 

After about 30 seconds, he pulls it away.

"I have reason to believe she threw her device against the wall and broke it."

"What makes you think that?" 

"She added a feature that, if the phone is broken, tells us _how_ it's broken to warn us if the other is in danger."

"And she threw it?"

"She threw it."

* * *

 Pidge stares down at the broken cell phone on the floor. She didn't really mean to throw it... that hard. It just started vibrating and she panicked. 

"Slow day?"

Pidge whips around to see Matt leaning against the doorframe of her room.

She glowers at him, "I will shave off your precious hair in your sleep."

"And I would retaliate. You know better," He says, waggling his finger up and down. He takes a step inside the room, holding out his arms with a look of sympathy in his eyes. She doesn't hesitate to run into them. Worries overcrowd her brain and escape out her mouth before she can stop them.

"What if he hates me, Matt?"

"He doesn't hate you."

"What if I embarrassed him so bad and he just stays on Malsonhia and never comes back?"

Matt fails to hold back a chuckle, "He wouldn't do that. The food on Malsonhia is disgusting."

"Matt!" She whines, pushing him away.

He takes a seat on the bed, patting the spot beside him for her to sit down.

"No matter what, he's not going to avoid you. I know that, and I know _you_ know that. And no matter what you guys are still a team, and it's your responsibility to make sure whatever happens doesn't affect everyone else, that's when things get bad. That means _you_ can't be the one to avoid _him_ either. Got it?"

She groans, "When did you become so wise?"

"When I realized my baby sister was gonna get into nasty situations and need her big brother's all-knowing guidance."

Their conversation comes to a pause when a loud noise comes from outside. When she gets to the window she looks through the blinds to see the black lion landing and a crowd of people surrounding it. No doubt to harass Shiro as soon as he steps foot on land.

The second she'd walked out of the building to head back to the Garrison after the dreaded interview happened, there had already been a mob of people outside, leaving her to wonder how they got there so fast. She didn't realize anybody actually cared about what she had to say outside of Voltron matters.

She presses herself against the wall away from the window, eyes as wide as saucers, "Oh no."

A look of worry takes over Matts face, "What's wrong? Is it an attack?"

"Worse...

"They're back." She slides down the wall to sit on the floor.

Matt sighs, "Oh my god, Pidge, I was actually worried.

" _I'm_ actually worried!"

"Go out there!"

A man in a Garrison uniform pokes his head in the doorway, "Um - Ms. Holt - uh, I was ordered to tell you that - well, the black lion has returned?"

"I KNOW!"

The man disappears with a yelp.

She lets out a distressed groan before lifting her suddenly heavy body off the floor and heading towards the door, Matt on her heels.

"Go get your man, Pidge."

"He's not my man."

"Not _yet_!"

* * *

Shiro was expecting the trip from the lion to the Garrison front doors would be much easier than what was happening now. An enormous crowd of people surrounds Black, and the fact they were all focused on him made the situation even more difficult.

He'd have to thank Pidge for that.

Or maybe he shouldn't. Love or not she'd probably hit him.

His boots finally hit sand as he steps off the ramp and weaves his way through the maze of people. Some hold microphones to him, shouting questions at him that he can't comprehend over the noise. He counts himself lucky to be as tall as he is because it allows him to see over a majority of the people. The one thing he doesn't know is where Pidge is, or if she's even actively looking for him like he is for her. 

He makes it to the side of the Garrison, a little ways from the door due to the crowd pushing him in different directions. 

He looks through the window just in time to see Pidge fly by, knocking on the window to get her attention. By pure luck, she turns around, making eye contact with him through the glass. 

He smiles, but all she gives him in return is a worried look and his smile disappears to mirror it. Her hand is directly opposite his and he wants desperately for the glass to vanish so he can hold it.

"Wait there." He tells her knowing she couldn't hear him before pushing through the crowd that seems to part a lot faster now as he makes his way to the door. 

Finally, after what feels like an hour, he places his human hand on the scanner and the doors slide open to reveal Pidge.

"Shiro, I'm so sorry I embarrassed you like that and I understand if you hate me now but -"

He cuts her off by placing his hand on her waist, pulling her towards him, leaning down, and kissing her. 

She doesn't waste a second before standing on her toes to throw her arms around his shoulders and return the kiss with as much, if not more determination.

The people outside cheer and he knows they're no doubt being recorded, but he couldn't find it in himself to care when the girl of his dreams is standing in _his_ arms.

"Should we get out of here?" She whispers, leaning her forehead on his.

"Absolutely."

* * *

 

Bonus:

"You look really pretty in that dress by the way."

"Thanks! I stole it."

**Author's Note:**

> sorry sorry sorry if that was boring at any point thank you so much for reading and I really hope you liked it  
> thank you!!!!! please give feedback and LET ME KNOW if you liked it!!!!


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